Valve announced that they would be releasing Dota 2 in the fall of 2011 back in October of last year. The announcement was quite controversial, and came as a huge surprise to both Valve fans and Dota fans alike. Valve fans were wondering what Valve is doing developing a fantasy, action RTS title that first came about as a Warcraft 3 mod. Dota fans were wondering what the hell IceFrog is doing working with Valve.

Almost one year on, many of these original impressions live on. Valve has not had the opportunity to show the game off as of yet. It would seem as if Gamescom is going to be Dota 2’s lucky day, but what exactly is Valve going to do? Through whispers and rumors, we know a bit about that. But not quite as much as we’d all like to know!

Valve has just announced “The International”, a Dota 2 tournament that will bring gamers the world over their first ever look at Dota 2. It will take place at Gamescom, from the 17th of August to the 21st of August, in Cologne, Germany.

The International features the 16 best Dota teams in the world competing in the Dota 2 Championships through a group stage, double elimination playoff format over the course of Cologne’s five-day trade show.

The tournament will be broadcast in four languages (Chinese, German, Russian, and English) free of charge.

Free of charge? Ah, yes, Valve truly is Valve. Imagine if we were dealing with another, more insidious game corporation here. Would they be so willing to let potential money fly away?

The winning team will receive $1 million.

Oh my.

“The International is the first public Dota 2 event and will give the tens of millions of gamers playing Dota around the world their first look at the new game,” said Gabe Newell, president and founder of Valve. “I have had the good fortune to watch the competitors as they prepare for the tournament, and the level of play is extraordinary.”

Sounds great. In addition, to the cash prize, which comes straight from Valve’s pockets, hardware for the event will be provided by NVidia. The 16 teams in question are: